The Genesis of the Law of Gravity

What it is

This is an article by Professor John C. Shedd of Olivet College, Michigan, published in the April 1911 issue of the Popular Science Monthly under the title The Genesis of the Law of Gravity. Its opening discusses how people long ago explained natural events with gods, and how they slowly began to notice regular patterns in nature.

The article has a substantial section on Kepler's life. It states that Kepler was born and reared in poverty and that he had to struggle all his life. The article places him among the thinkers who helped lead toward the modern understanding of gravitation.

Why it matters

The article shows how an American science writer of 1911 told the story of gravity as a long chain of discoveries. It presents Kepler as one link in that chain, alongside earlier and later thinkers. It is useful for seeing how early twentieth-century readers were taught to think about the history of science.

Look closer

• How does the author describe early human explanations of nature, and how do those explanations differ from scientific ones?
• Why does the article emphasize Kepler's poverty and struggles?
• Which scientists does the article present as the heroes of this story, and whom might it leave out?